Byzantism /is/ a state of things in the Byzantine Empire, that being corrupt morals in general, the immorality of court life in particular, the excesses of luxury and ceremony at the court, indecent bootlicking and flattery towards the lords.
Justin v. Prášek, âByzantinismusâ, in Ottův slovnÃk nauÄný. Illustrovaná encyklopaedie obecných vÄdomostà [Ottoâs encyclopaedia. An illustrated encyclopaedia of general knowledge] 4 (Prague: J. Otto, 1891), 1019.
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If the basic task of the history of old Bohemian art has so far been placing it within the overall history of Western mediaeval art, by that placing an emphasis primarily on Western elements within the oldest Bohemian paintings, this is understandable as a natural and necessary reaction to the uncritical conflations of the previous period, a reaction to the nationalist fabulations on the virginal character of Slavonic art, etc. Now, however, the Western influences having been more or less discovered, a more pressing question becomes the one concerning the specific character of Bohemian art in comparison to our Western neighbours.
⦠although in all old Bohemian art and culture the basic style was provided by the Roman-German West, we should be able to uncover the subtler influences â on the one hand, the pre-Romanesque elements, whose importance was noted by Strzygowski, and, on the other hand, secondary influences. Since time immemorial, Bohemia has been a battlefield of contradictory influences and interests.
Roman Jakobson, NejstarÅ¡Ã Äeské pÃsnÄ duchovnà [The Oldest Bohemian Spiritual Songs], Národnà knihovna [National Library] 4. (Prague: self- published by L. KuncÃÅ, 1929), 41â42.
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